The internal crisis that shakes the Washington Post Since Friday, October 25, over the course of a weekend, it has taken on the appearance of an earthquake, less than a week before the presidential elections that will be decided, on Tuesday, November 5, between the Democrat Kamala Harris and the Republican Donald Trump.
To such an extent that the turbulence that is shaking one of the most important values of the United States is already having important economic consequences. According to public radio NPR, the newspaper lost more than 250,000 subscribers between Friday, October 25 and Tuesday, October 29 at noon. In fact, the owner of the prestigious newspaper, Jeff Bezos, founder of the Amazon company, is suspected of having forced the editorial staff to opt, for the first time since 1988, for neutrality in the presidential elections, which outraged some readers. The wave of defections represents 10% of its 2.5 million subscribers, an unprecedented drop in the press in such a short time.
It all began on October 25, when CEO William Lewis announced that the newspaper – famous for exposing the Watergate scandal in 1974 – would refrain from endorsing any candidate in the 2024 presidential election and in future elections. However, an hour later, two journalists from Washington Post explained, in a detailed article about this decision, that a position in favor of Kamala Harris was being prepared and that the decision to block her publication came from Bezos.
An “interference”
The announcement immediately surprised the editorial team. The journalists’ union denounced a “interference” on the eve “an election with a lot at stake”. One of the most experienced editorial writers, Robert Kagan, resigned immediately, denouncing a “surrender”. “We are actually kneeling before Donald Trump because we are afraid of what he is going to do”He became indignant shortly afterwards at the CNN microphone, referring to the meeting between David Limp, CEO of the aerospace company Blue Origin – whose owner is Mr. Bezos – and Donald Trump on the same day.
For his part, Jeff Bezos denied on Monday, October 28, through a column published by the Washington Postthat his personal interests are at the origin of the lack of support for an American presidential candidate. According to the billionaire, this decision “was taken entirely internally”. assured “don’t push” in favor of his personal interests in the editorial elections of the newspaper of which he has owned since 2013. If the calls to vote issued by the editorial boards of newspapers are a tradition in the United States, this practice “It actually creates a perception of partiality, of non-independence”says. According to the founder of Amazon, ending it is “the right decision”.
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